The present invention relates to a system for sewing a multi-piece air bag.
Many air bags, used in vehicle supplemental safety restraint systems, comprise a number of panels of material which are often manually sewn together. The present invention presents a device which will enable the automation of the sewing process.
Accordingly the invention comprises: a device for holding a plurality of pieces of fabric in a preferred orientation to enable adjacent pieces to be sewn together along pre-determined sew lines comprising: a plate including a plurality of slits, the positions of each slit corresponding to the location of the desired sew lines and an outer frame 64 secured about the periphery of the plate. The fabric to be sewn is laid upon the plate with edges of adjacent pieces overlaying each other and above a corresponding slit. The device further includes locating means for locating certain pieces of fabric on the plate in a predetermined orientation and at least one positioning frame movably secured relative to the outer frame or plate. Each positioning frame including specified sets of bars closely spaced one to the other and positioned such that when each positioning frame is lowered upon the plate the spacing between designated set of bars is above a corresponding slit and above the location of the overlaid fabric pieces. A needle of a sewing head is moved between the spacing of the bars to sew various pieces of fabric together.
Many other objects and purposes of the invention will be clear from the following detailed description of the drawings.